20 things that parents with three kids know all too well

People often ask me what it’s like having three kids. I usually refer them to the memes I’ve included in this post as they sum it up nicely. But I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t write a blog post about it too.

I love having three kids and wouldn’t change it for anything. Without wishing to sound saccharine, I love them all to bits and having a trio of them has made our lives complete. There are, however, a fair few things that I’ve noticed that are markedly different from having two.

Here are 20 things that parents with three kids (or the brave souls who have even more) know all too well.

1) They never want to eat the same meal as each other.

2) If your older two are of one gender, people assume you only had the third to attempt to redress the balance.

3) Tidying is an exercise in futility.

4) You never address the right child by the right name.

5) There’s a population explosion of odd socks.

6) You will never go on holiday again.

7) It is impossible to get all three to bed without one starting a rebellion.

8) Want to watch a family film together? It’ll be bedtime by the time they agree on one.

9) You come to think of Outnumbered as a documentary rather than a sitcom.

10) DIY jobs remain unfinished and you learn to live with them.

11) You achieve a new level of tired that you previously thought impossible.

12) The washing machine permanently sounds like it’s about to go on strike.

13) You become obsessed with buying packs of food that are divisible by three.

14) The toddler knows way too much about technology.

15) You use the phrase “That’ll do” much more than you used to.

16) There will always be at least one family member unwell at any given time.

17) You know every episode of Peppa Pig word for word including the new ones.

18) When out and about they will run off in three different directions at the first opportunity.